I was talking recently with the Assistant District Attorney for a nearby county. She said, "In this one county we have a case load of about 150 criminally charged cases per week for domestic violence. These are the ones that actually make it to court. The actual number is 40 times that amount." (About 6000 cases per week -- 24,000 per month!) And this is for just one fairly average county.
I was shocked.
Our society doesn't seem to have a solution for violence. Violence is pervasive. It's in our movies, TV, video games, sports, news, AND in our homes. Is there a solution? We know (or should know) if we undulge in violence, we feed it, because whatever we put our attention on grows stronger. Common sense -- and research bears it out.
What most of us don't know is that if we suppress violence, try to squash it down with force -- with will power -- we also feed it. It only stays surpressed for a little while and then comes back with a vengeance. This explains how the mild mannered guy down the street suddenly gets a gun and becomes a mass murderer. "He seemed like such a nice guy." -- Both sex and violence when either indulged in unconsciously or surpressed grow pervertedly stronger. Pornography is responsible for the bulk of internet traffic, sorry to say. Our nation seems to have a fixation on both sex and violence.
But there's more.
Certain drugs cause supression as well. In virtually every case of mass murder, psychoactive prescription drugs have played a major role. It's true for Columbine and just recently, the Colorado movie massacre. The attempt to control violent tendencies with drugs is prone to failure. Just like trying to control depression with drugs. Studies show that people on Prozac are 12 times more likely to commit suicide than even those taking other antidepressants. Drugs to control violence can drive people to insane violent acts. Drugs are not the solution.
Is there a solution?
All action comes from the mind. Unfortunately, our society never teaches us how to use the mind properly, how to manage our inner space. It should have been learned in childhood, but there is no cultural or institutional source in this country for the knowledge and techniques of soothing the mind. Quite the opposite. This is where the knowledge of the East shines. Yoga, Meditation, Kriya, Pranayama -- there are so many methods to heal the mind and heart that were developed thousands of years ago from these ancient traditions. Since my studies involved both eastern and western studies, I know of dozens if not hundreds of ways to reduce and prevent violence. But this is not common knowledge.
After hearing about the enormity of the problem, I have decided to develop an online course on how to reverse violence. I hope to have it ready in a few weeks. In the meantime, if you know of people who need help. Either perpetrators or victims, please tell them that there are solutions. Lots of solutions. But they don't come from our current cultural base. We have to dive deep into the Eastern teachings to resolve this most tragic problem.
In the meantime, I'm available for appointments for healing emotional and mental stress using the methods from the east.